


For a Few Centimeters More

by HasteinAurelius



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Platonic Relationships, during Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29189550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HasteinAurelius/pseuds/HasteinAurelius
Summary: Just a little something inspired by a silly thought I had one night. - Levi had always wondered what it would be like to be taller. One day, after a boring meeting on technology sharing, Kiyomi offers to let him try a piece of Hizuru technology he had never imagined: lifts for his boots.
Kudos: 15





	For a Few Centimeters More

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place about halfway through the timeskip. Also, I have a bit of headcanon that since the new Levi squad are the only experienced scouts left, it's reasonable that the 104th survivors would all eventually get promoted out of the squad to help deal with all the new recruits. So basically, everyone’s a captain now.

“So this electricity generation,” Hange pronounced the unfamiliar words carefully, “it can do more than create light?”

Levi hid a yawn behind his teacup as one of Kiyomi’s engineers babbled on with yet another long, droning, monotone answer. Levi had always hated meetings, but they were even worse with Hange running them. She had been his partner in crime once, along with Mike; the trio had kept each other entertained and awake through many a boring meeting, much to the ire of Erwin. But Erwin and Mike were both dead and Hange was trying her best to be serious, leaving Levi bored out of his mind and struggling to stay awake.

After putting the cup down, he picked up one of the pencils in front of him and began to idly twirl it between his fingers. Two of the Azumabito engineers held up a technical drawing and a third began pointing out details on it. As everyone turned to look, Levi whipped his arm in a short arc, sending the pencil up to join the five others he had already decorated the much-abused plaster ceiling with.

So far the only one to notice had been Pixis, who had grinned and begun launching pencils of his own, adding to the hundreds of small holes from past meetings. Unfortunately he had only managed three before his assistant noticed and took the rest of his pencils and his backup flask away, spoiling the old man’s fun.

Seeing that everyone was still transfixed on the drawing, Levi sent another pencil flying and had begun to twirl his next missile when a small hand clamped down on his wrist. Casting a glance to the side, he saw Queen Historia casting an amused look at him. “Captain,” she whispered at him while taking the pencil from his hand, “leave my ceiling alone!”

“Fine, Queen brat,” he whispered back, shrugging, before taking another sip of tea.

Frowning, he considered his remaining pencils. When the queen looked away he smirked faintly as a new idea occurred to him. Seizing one of the pencils, he swiftly slid it into the rat’s nest that Hange called a hairstyle. When there was no reaction, he quickly slid two more in and was adding a fourth when Historia leaned over and took the rest of his pencils. He sighed as the queen smirked and the meeting continued with no end in sight.

Within minutes, Levi’s head began to nod as he struggled to stay awake. Years of insomnia made boring meetings particularly difficult. After a few minutes of this struggle, a tiny elbow jabbed him in the ribs and the Queen whispered, “Stay awake, Captain,” and waved at a servant to bring him more tea.

Casting his gaze around for anything distracting to keep himself awake, Levi noticed the pencils in front of Hange. Glancing around to make sure he was unnoticed, he began to stealthily move them from the desk in front of her to her hair.

Hange chuckled lightly when she noticed what was happening. After knowing him for many years, she knew very well what happened when Levi went to meetings about topics that didn’t interest him, such as bringing orphans to the surface. He would be face down on the table and snoring within minutes if he didn’t keep occupied. And so she smiled and pretended not to notice, planning to tease Levi later for playing with her hair. 

When her pencil supply began to run low, she removed a few from her hair and placed them within Levi’s reach, and then pulled another from her hair and dropped it down the back of his jacket when nobody was watching. At the other end of the table, Pixis smiled as he slid one of his emergency auxiliary flasks from a boot and spiked his tea.

* * *

“You don’t find electricity interesting, Captain?” Kiyomi asked in the hallway after the meeting had mercifully ended.

He shrugged as she fell into step with him. “I’m a fighter, not a scientist. You should just lock your engineers in a room with four eyes for a few hours, let them sort it out.”

“Perhaps a different technology would pique your interest.” When he didn’t respond, she continued, “There are many men in Hizuru who desire to be taller.”

“Are you calling me short?” he demanded.

“Not at all,” she lied, glancing down at the top of his head. “I merely thought you would be interested in sampling the technology these men developed to become taller.”

This stopped him in his tracks. He cast a quick glance around to make sure nobody would overhear before he asked, “You can do that? What’s the catch?”

“No catch. The Queen values your opinion and perhaps a pleasing gift would convince you to be less… angry in negotiations.”

“Trying to butter me up.” He glared for a moment before he asked, “How does it work?”

She waved one of her engineers forward, the only other person left in the hallway. He opened his briefcase, revealing two wedge shaped objects. “These are called lifts. You hide them in your boots and become taller.”

He cast one more glance around the hall before he yanked off a boot and demanded, “Show me.”

* * *

Though he had no intention of ever admitting it, Levi had often wondered what it would be like to be tall. As he strode through the halls of headquarters, he found the new point of view much to his liking. When nobody was around to see, he would reach up and slap doorframes as he walked under them, marveling that he could reach so high without jumping.

“Captain!” Jean called. Turning at the voice, Levi saw the tall young officer hurrying toward him with a worried look on his face. Levi noted with pleasure that he didn’t seem as obnoxiously tall as usual. “Are you alright? Something seems… off.”

“I’m fine, Jean.”

Frowning, Jean studied his former commanding officer. “Did something happen?” Something was definitely different, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “You almost look… happy?” Jean had known Levi for over three years now and still had only seen the older man smile once. “Did the Azumabito bring really good tea today or something?”

Levi shrugged. “Something like that.”

“That’s great,” Jean declared with a smile. “You know, the old squad, we all worry about you sometimes. It’s good to see you like this.”

“You brats gossiping about me now?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Captain!” Jean assured him. After a pause he admitted, “Except when we got together over drinks last weekend and started planning your birthday party.”

“Half a year out and you’re already wasting time on that? Tch, it’s just another day…”

“Really? Then why do you never miss any of our birthdays and always give some of the best gifts?” Jean accused, still smiling. 

“Because you brats are still young enough to care about that shit, I’m not,” came the dour reply as Levi refused to admit how much he enjoyed getting together with his former subordinates.

“But we care about your birthday,” Jean insisted.

“Probably the only reason I put up with it,” Levi grumbled. “Just don’t make a big deal of it this time.”

“And you never miss the Commander’s birthday.”

“Tch, you should know by now, she’s still a brat inside.”

Jean chuckled at this. “Well, I gotta run, about to go torture my squad with all my least favorite drills from back in the day.”

“Let me know if your they whine as much as you used to,” Levi dryly requested, drawing another chuckle as Jean turned to hurry to the training field. As soon as he was out of sight, Levi reached up and slapped the next doorframe as he headed downstairs.

* * *

A startled laugh greeted Levi as he walked into the mess hall. “The hell you brats laughing at?” he demanded of Mikasa and Sasha, who were sitting at a nearby table drinking tea.

“Uh, Mikasa just told a really funny joke,” Sasha claimed.

“Since when does the gloomy brat tell jokes?”

“Are _you_ her roommate, Captain? I’ll have you know she’s hilarious when she wants to be! She inherited _all_ of the sense of humor in your family,” Sasha declared.

“Also,” Mikasa added, “Sasha laughed too hard and farted right before you came in.”

“No! Why did you tell him that?”

“Tch, probably because you eat so damn much lobster, brat.”

“I can’t help it!” Sasha claimed. “Niccolo likes feeding me lobster!”

“Is that what he calls it?” Mikasa asked with a faint smirk, setting Sasha off laughing again.

“I really don’t need to hear about you brats’ love lives,” Levi complained. “Shouldn’t you two be working right now?”

“It’s fine,” Sasha explained, “our squads are running laps right now.”

“And you aren’t running with them?”

“They still can’t keep up with us,” Mikasa explained, looking disappointed.

“Yeah, everyone falls out before we get near halfway, so we do our runnin’ later.”

“And how do you know they’re not goofing off?”

“Oh, Eren’s out running too. Our guys know Eren’ll yell at them and tell us if they slack off,” Sasha explained.

“And he doesn’t care that their captains are slacking off?

“We aren’t slacking off!” Sasha insisted. “We’re discussing important military matters!”

“Tch, more like you’re discussing your boyfriend’s lobster,” Levi joked with a faint smirk. 

“ _And_ important military matters!” Sasha claimed, blushing. 

“Maybe I didn’t get all the humor after all,” Mikasa remarked, “But we really are planning a joint training exercise that doesn’t involve lobster.”

“Yeah! And it’s gonna be awesome!” Sasha added. “See, I can think of more than one thing at a time just fine!”

“Hmmm,” Mikasa mused, “potatoes… lobster…”

“More than two things!”

“Good luck with that. You brats really need to get back to your squads, though. Your brats are gonna run amok if you don’t keep an eye on them.”

“As soon as we finish our tea,” Sasha promised.

“Shouldn’t you be with your squad?” Mikasa asked.

“Nah, it’s their day off.”

“And you didn’t take one?” Sasha asked. “Captain, you really need to take more time for yourself!”

“I’m fine. Finally got caught up with my paperwork.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of paperwork,” Sasha groaned, “The Commander dropped another pile on top of the mountain of papers on my desk this morning.”

“I’ll come help with them later,” Mikasa offered. 

“Same,” Levi added. “Sasha, you’ve got to start leaning on the other officers more when you fall behind, especially since we’re nearly back to full strength with all those damn 107th brats running around. We get buried if we don’t share the load.”

“Well if it’s not too much trouble, I’d really appreciate it if the two of you could come by my office after dinner, see how much of that mountain we can plow through.”

“Right, I’ll see you two brats then. Just try to keep the lobster discussion to a minimum,” he teased as he turned to leave.

“Thanks, Captain!” Sasha called after him while chuckling at his joke. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve heard him make a joke that wasn’t about shit.”

“I’ve heard him make jokes mocking MPs before.”

“Pft, that doesn’t count,” Sasha claimed, waving a hand dismissively, “you know the Captain thinks MPs are shit.”

“Point,” Mikasa admitted with a nod. “Guess my grumpy cousin’s finally branching out.”

“I feel bad for laughing, though,” Sasha admitted as Levi closed the storage room door behind himself, “But tall Captain is just so weird, I couldn’t help it.”

Mikasa nodded again. “Yeah. He wasn’t moving right at all. It’s just bizarre, seeing him like that.”

Sasha shook her head, feeling guilty. “And I couldn’t bring myself to say anything about it.”

“It’s just as well, there’s other people around so he’d just get embarrassed and angry. I’ll talk to him about it tonight before we come into your office, it’ll be easier coming from family.”

Sasha nodded. “So, back to business. The quartermaster didn’t have any wax bullets for training, but if we dump half the powder from regular rounds an’ jam a chunk of candle where the lead was…” 

* * *

As he walked into the storage room, Levi cast a challenging glare at the top shelf. Walking past the stepstool he normally used, he reached up. He still couldn’t reach the top shelf, but the second highest was finally in reach. Pulling down a can, he paused for a minute to savor the triumph.

“Captain? Why are you smiling at a can of beans?”

“They’re very good beans,” Levi improvised, turning to face a very confused Connie.

“But we had beans for dinner last night…”

“These ones… are grown in a different region, Connie. That changes the flavor,” Levi claimed, wishing he had thought of a better excuse. He quickly hid the can in a jacket pocket before Connie could examine it closer. “It’s not often they have a can of them back here.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you were a bean connoisseur…”

Levi shrugged and changed the subject, “Why are you back here?”

“Oh, I’m just getting some napkins for my squad.”

“What, did your brats make a mess for you?”

“Nah, I’m gonna teach them improvised first aid.”

“You plan on carrying stacks of napkins in the field?”

“Nah, these napkins aren’t napkins.”

“They aren’t?” Now it was Levi’s turn to look confused.

“I wanted to use spare cloaks,” Connie explained. “You know, have my team practice tearing them up to make tournaments and splints and stuff. But the quartermaster yelled at me and told me to get out.”

Levi nodded. “Why not practice with actual bandages?”

“I was going to grab some from the infirmary, but the head nurse yelled at me and told me to get out. Then she threw a bedpan at me.”

“Better hurry up before the head cook catches you in here, then.”

Connie nodded and began loading his arms with napkins. “Uh, Captain? You ok? Something seems wrong.”

“I’m alright, Connie.”

Connie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, but at least knew what to get Levi for his birthday this year. “Well, um, you know, we all have your back, so, um, if anything ever isn’t, you know, alright…”

“I know, and I appreciate you brats for it. But you really need to go if you don’t want to find out what the cook’ll throw at you.”

“Right!,” Connie agreed before darting out the door to the mess hall. Levi shook his head before exiting through the other door, to the kitchen. 

“Thirsty?” Levi asked with an eyebrow raised as the door closed behind him.

“Oh, hey, Captain,” Armin greeted him while loading a third teapot on a tray. “Just trying to stay awake after writing reports all night.” The bags under the young shifters eyes confirmed his story.

Levi nodded sympathetically, having been in that situation many times himself. “Need a hand?”

The blonde shook his head. “Mikasa and Eren already helped me last afternoon with most of it. All that’s left is to finish my monthly expenses.”

“Saving the worst for last?”

Armin chuckled dryly at this. “Yeah, but first I’m going to take my squad outside the wall, do some more titan experiments in the blast zone.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Right.” Armin glanced nervously down at Levi’s boots. “Yeah.”

“Armin?”

“Ah, think I’m falling asleep on my feet,” he claimed.

“I better not hear you’re in the infirmary because you fell asleep and fell off your horse. Maybe you should do the experiments tomorrow.”

“I’ll see how I feel after drinking all this.”

“And if you still feel like shit?” Levi pressed.

“I’ll postpone,” Armin promised.

“Good.” The two then parted ways, Armin carrying his tray into the mess hall while Levi exited the building through the back door and began to wander the headquarters grounds, reaching up and touching tree branches he normally wouldn’t be able to whenever he thought nobody was looking.

* * *

“Hey Captain, look at this!”

Turning, Levi was shocked when he found himself looking up at Historia, who was grinning while wobbling unsteadily towards him. “What the hell are you wearing?” he demanded, gesturing at her strange wooden sandals that looked like tiny tables with excessively long legs, held to her feet by floral straps across her toes.

“Aren’t they great? Kiyomi gave them to me! Now I’m so tall you can call me your highness!”

“You’re gonna break your damn ankle, your tallness,” he grumbled. 

“I’m fine. They’re a little wobbly, but my balance is great and I still- ah, not again…” One of her geta had caught in a gap between flagstones, she braced herself and prepared to fall as she tipped over.

“Shit!” Levi dashed forward to catch the Queen. Unfortunately, he had not practiced moving fast in his modified boots and found himself crashing toward the ground as well. Going with the fall, he pushed himself forward so that he hit the rough flagstones first and cushioned Historia’s fall.

“Captain, are you alright?”

“You said ‘not again’, have you already fallen off those damn things?” he asked as he helped her sit up. 

“Only a few times,” she admitted as she wobbled to her feet, “but I still remember what you taught me about falling right. A few bruises on my arms are no big deal.”

“No big deal?” he growled as he stood. 

“I’ve had worse in training!” the diminutive Queen insisted. “ _You’ve_ given me worse, sparring! But I’ve never seen you trip before. Did Kiyomi give you something too?” He looked away, embarrassed. “Hey, I won’t tell anyone. We shorties gotta stick together, right?”

He sighed and admitted, “It’s in my boots.”

“That’s clever. So, you having as much fun being tall as I am?”

He hesitated a moment before he replied, “It’s kinda nice, yeah.”

She smiled. “I can reach the tops of the doorframes without jumping.”

“Same. And the second highest shelf in the mess storage.”

“I have _got_ to try that.”

“Yes, you should definitely go in where the floors're smoother. But don’t use those things on the stairs.”

“Yes, father,” Historia sarcastically replied. “Do I have a curfew as well?”

“Tch, as if I was cut out for daddy shit,” he replied with a faint smirk. 

Historia shrugged. “You’ve been more of a father than Rod ever was.” His eyes widened and he looked away uncomfortably, so she changed the subject, “So, wanna try the tall sandals?”

“Nah, sandals aren’t my thing.”

“You mean someone might see you. Come by the office I’m using later, I bet you can squeeze your feet into these.”

“Maybe. For now, let’s get your royal ass inside before you fall and bust your face open.”

* * *

Strolling down the hall at a brisk pace, Levi nearly ran into Eren as the latter came out of the men’s washroom. “Good training?” he asked, guessing from the tall shifter’s wet hair that he had just washed off after running his squad through its paces.

Eren looked down at Levi’s boots and raised an eyebrow before replying. “Yeah, my squads getting a lot better.”

“So, how long have captains gloomy and potato been pawning off their work on you?” Eren blinked and opened his mouth as if he was about to answer, before getting a far-away look in his eyes as if he was seeing through the wall behind Levi. “Eren?” Eren blinked again and a look of sorrow washed over his face for a moment before being replaced by his customary dour expression. “Memories again?”

Eren nodded. “I was working with Historia on unlocking more this morning and sometimes they stick with me.”

“Maybe you should give that a rest for while. Or I’m going to have to start calling you gloomy brat and find a new nickname for Mikasa.”

“If you could see, you’d be gloomier than normal too.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“That won’t help. But… maybe we could go down to the mess and have some tea?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Levi replied, taking Eren by the shoulder and steering him toward the stairs.

* * *

“Ow!” Hange exclaimed after she rushed around a corner and ran into Levi. “Watch where you’re going, shor-“ she said before suddenly bursting into laughter. “I’m sorry!” she laughed, “This is just so weird and unexpected!”

“What is?” he demanded as she began to compose herself. “You’re acting weirder than usual, shitty glasses.”

“You!” she replied, grinning maniacally. 

“I’m weird?”

“You’re tall! How are you tall?”

“You must be imagining things,” he insisted, scowling.

“No.” She walked closer. “You’re definitely as tall as me now. That’s new. Did you eat anything weird? Is this another Ackerman power? Did Mikasa get taller too?”

Levi sighed as his curious Commander continued to pelt him with questions. “It’s my boots, alright?”

“So Ackermans don’t get an extra growth spurt in middle age? How’d you get your boots to make you taller? Please, Levi, I need to know how it works!”

“Look, I was just curious, alright?” he admitted, downcast.

Hange’s enthusiasm dwindled at his expression. “Sorry, Levi, I got a little carried away there. But there’s nothing wrong with curiosity. So you invented tall boots?”

“No, Kiyomi gave me something to go inside my boots.”

“Oh, like those weird sandals she gave the queen?

“Something like that.”

“So how is it? Being tall?”

“I guess it’s nice, but I keep getting weird looks from everyone.”

“Because you’re the short, grumpy badass everyone knows and loves. You being a tall, wobbly guy is just bizarre.”

“It’s that obvious?”

“Not as much as the sandals, but yeah.”

“Guess I’m done with these dumb things, then,” he declared with a shrug. 

“Can I try them on?”

“Why? You’re already tall.”

“Yeah, but now I’m curious what it’s like to be crazy freaky tall.”

“You should ask her royal tallness to lend you her sandals. She already tried to get me to try them.”

“Really? Then let’s go find her!”

* * *

“Come on, Levi, let me have a turn on the tall sandals!” Hange pleaded as Levi made another circuit around Historia’s office in her geta. They were a bit too small for him, resulting in his heels hanging off the back. 

“What was that, shortie?” he joked. “I can’t hear you from all the way down there.”

“I don’t know what’s weirder,” Hange chuckled, “crazy tall Levi or Levi in floral sandals.” She then turned to where Historia was pacing around in Levi’s lifted boots and asked, “Oh your royal tallness, your short subject beseechs you, can I at least try the tall boots?”

“You just had to ask,” she replied with a smile as she sat on the edge of her desk.

Hange smiled back. “I know that, but I’m having fun here.”

Historia chuckled as she pulled one of the boots off. “Very well, loyal shortie, your tall queen grants you a boon. Be- Whoa, look at that.”

Turning to see what Historia was pointing at, Hange smiled wider. “Now there’s a rare sight.”

Historia nodded. “This makes three times I’ve seen him smile.”

“I guess he can keep the tall sandals a bit longer,” Hange conceded. 


End file.
